<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN"
 "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd">
<html xml:lang="en" xmlns:epub="http://www.idpf.org/2007/ops" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en">
<head>
  <title>Chapter 27</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet"
        type="text/css"
        href="css/style.css" />
  <link rel="stylesheet"
        type="text/css"
        href="css/media.css" />
</head>
<body class="content layout-paginated">
  <div id="chapter-27" class="element element-bodymatter element-container-single element-type-chapter element-with-heading">
    <div class="heading heading-with-title heading-with-image" id="chapter-27-heading">
      <div class="heading-contents">
        <div class="title-subtitle-block title-block-title-is-element-number">
          <div class="element-number-block">
          </div>
          <div class="title-block">
            <h1 class="title">Chapter 27</h1>
          </div>
          <h2 class="subtitle">Iszak</h2>
        </div>
        <div class="heading-image-block heading-image-aspect-square heading-image-block-after-title-and-subtitle">
          <div class="heading-image-size-container heading-image-width-250">
            <img src="images/opheliabellsolodragon.jpg"
                 alt=""
                 class="heading-image-image" />
          </div>
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
    <div class="text" id="chapter-27-text">
      <p class="first first-in-chapter first-full-width"><span class="first-letter first-letter-t">T</span>he second journey was as disorienting as the first. Iszak managed to avoid retching at the end of it, but that may only have been because he’d left all the contents of his stomach back in Nikhil’s penthouse. The thought was oddly gratifying, until he caught sight of his grandmother.</p>
      <p class="subsq">The sight that greeted him was not his Nanyo’s usual diminutive wizened visage. Sophia North was one of the oldest, most powerful turul seeresses, and power as strong as hers had preserved the woman’s true appearance. Iszak knew as much, but wasn’t prepared for the woman who greeted them when they arrived. She normally presented an illusion of a sweet, little old lady to the outside world. As a result, Iszak and his brother were rarely granted the sight of her in her element.</p>
      <p class="subsq">On any other day, she might be seated in her comfortable armchair, reading a book and humming along to whatever music she had playing on her old phonograph. Today she appeared as a statuesque matron, with shining black curls pinned back with tortoiseshell combs, and smooth, glowing olive skin. She greeted them from the windowed alcove at the edge of her living room, standing at full height with her hands clasped serenely in front of her. The cool directness of her gaze told Iszak she’d been expecting them, and likely already knew exactly why they were there.</p>
      <p class="subsq">He braced himself for the cryptic conversation he knew was imminent.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Instead, his grandmother’s face broke into a warm smile, her eyes lighting up in response to something behind Iszak’s right shoulder. Confused by the unexpected shift in her demeanor, he turned to see Marcus bowing low—so low he was practically groveling.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Iszak raised an eyebrow, wondering why the man hadn’t bothered groveling for him and his brother.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Marcus, child, it’s so good to see you whole,” their grandmother said. She opened her arms wide. “Come, my dear. It’s been too long.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Marcus obediently stepped forward between Iszak and Lukas. Lukas watched him pass with as much surprise as Iszak.</p>
      <p class="subsq">They observed mutely while Marcus accepted their grandmother’s embrace, murmuring what sounded like words of sincere apology for staying away so long.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Nonsense,” Sophia replied. “You and my granddaughter followed the path you were meant to follow. There should be no apologies. You must return to her now, though. My grandsons’ journey is their own. Go, child. She is waiting for you.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Marcus turned back to Iszak and Lukas and reached out a hand. In his eyes, Iszak read the very same desperation he himself felt to be reunited with the woman he loved. But along with it came a look of utter defeat that made no sense, if Marcus was indeed about to go back to be with Evie.</p>
      <p class="subsq">He gripped Marcus’s offered hand uncertainly. “What is it? Evie’s safe like you said, isn’t she? We’ll come find you both as soon as we get Belah back, I can promise you that.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Marcus gave him a curt nod. “She is, but we all know she was never mine to keep. You have to come quickly—the second Nikhil gets wind that I’ve betrayed him, he’ll take it out on me, so I want her well away from the place by then. If you guys succeed in getting Belah away from him, he won’t be happy.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Brother, if we succeed, <i>nobody </i>will have to worry about that bastard again, least of all you and Evie.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Marcus’s lips tightened into a hard line. “I wish I believed you, but I know better by now. The man is indestructible, and easily the strongest creature on the planet. Your wind couldn’t move <i>me</i> earlier, thanks to the immortal blood he’s been feeding me for the last five decades. He’s been living on the stuff for thousands of years.”</p>
      <p class="subsq"><i>Immortal blood.</i> The icy lump returned to Iszak’s belly, and he remembered the groove in the floor beneath the cross in Nikhil’s penthouse.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“I don’t care how long he’s lived. His life is ending tonight if Belah has so much as a paper cut when we get to her. Go be with Evie—let us deal with that bastard.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Marcus squeezed his hand, gave Lukas a nod, and disappeared with a soft <i>pop.</i></p>
      <p class="subsq">When Iszak turned back to his grandmother, the diminutive, bird-like woman he was used to stood before them in place of the more intimidating figure that had greeted them.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“How do we get to her, Nanyo? And more importantly, how do we kill him?”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Without a word, she held out a hand and opened it, palm up. Resting in the center was a small, cylindrical vial encased in silver filigree that had grown tarnished with age. Iszak reached out for it, but his grandmother held it back with a shake of her head.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“I give you this under one condition: when you reach her, you must take her and leave. Do not risk your lives over vengeance. Every moment wasted is a moment closer to death. <i>She </i>is the key to ending his life, and as the being who was most instrumental in giving him that life, she is the one to choose whether to take it away. You may not deny her that choice, grandsons.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Her fist remained closed as Iszak regarded her. She stepped closer to him and Lukas and reached up her free hand, brushing her fingertips over the side of his neck. The fresh dragon mark tingled under her touch. She did the same to Lukas, the intricate pattern glowing with a pulsing rhythm that matched the throbbing vein in his brother’s throat.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Lukas appeared on the verge of implosion. For their entire lives, their grandmother had tested their resolve, yet despite all her tricks and games and cryptic words, they both knew better than to deny the woman’s power.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Tell us how to get to her, Nanyo.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Promise me, Iszak. You too, Lukas. If you want to keep her and the child quickening in her belly, you will do as I request.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Iszak blinked and shared a quick look with Lukas. Impossible. It had only been a short time since they’d both made love to her while marked—they hadn’t even shared breath to complete the turul mating ritual.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“I don’t understand …”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Sophia interrupted him by turning and calling out, “Oszkar! Come talk to your cousins for a moment!”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Iszak and Lukas turned at the sound of one of the back bedroom doors creaking open. A scowling Ozzie trudged down the photograph-lined hallway. He looked half drunk and in no mood for company.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“I can’t believe you’re encouraging the fools, Nanyo. You know as well as I do who the woman is. You’re gonna get them both killed.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Nonsense,” she said, waving her hand. “I just need you to tell them what you told me of the conversation you overheard between the Beast and her former master.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Ozzie snorted and met Iszak’s gaze. “See? Even she calls her ‘the Beast.’ Shouldn’t that clue you in to what you’re getting into?”</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Doesn’t matter, Oz. She’s the One. So what the fuck have you got to tell us, anyway?”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Ozzie shrugged and shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “She promised him a week. A week to do whatever he wishes with her in exchange for information about where her kid is. You got that part, right? Her son. In other words, she’s no virgin. What makes you think she’ll be the least bit invested in having <i>your</i> babies?”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Lukas cursed under his breath, but Iszak’s skin had gone ice cold. His words caught in his throat like a lump of jagged ice. She had agreed to be with that monster for a week.</p>
      <p class="subsq">No. She wouldn’t have willingly gone with him. But he hadn’t seen whether she had struggled or not when the Ultiori leader took her. He looked at Lukas, who seemed to be having the same thought.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“She marked us … I can’t believe she’d have gone … and … <i>fuck</i>, man, she was <i>tied</i> with those ropes. She was helpless. We left her helpless. She wouldn’t have had a choice.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Iszak closed his eyes and took a deep breath, willing away the painful knot in his throat.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“She made that promise to him before she met us. And she told us about her children … we know exactly what’s at stake for her. We told her we would help her find them. I don’t give a fuck how much time she promised him. We’re going to get her back. What do you have for us, Nanyo?”</p>
      <p class="subsq">His grandmother opened her palm again and held up the vial.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“This contains two droplets of nymphaea blood. Their blood is tied to the rivers of time and can take you to her, but only if you let your own blood flow once this is in your veins. Just be prepared to find she’s been away from you longer than it seems—I can sense the babe now, for my grandchild is my own blood, too—and it has been more than a day since its power has manifested. Belah’s master would have ensured he was given the time he was promised.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Iszak went to take the vial, but she pulled it back again. “Let me,” she said.</p>
      <p class="subsq">She pulled the tiny stopper and held the vial up over his lips. A clear, sparkling droplet hung from the end, poised to drop.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Open.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Iszak did as commanded, and a second later the liquid hit his tongue. She was already in front of Lukas, holding it up again while Iszak processed the strange sensation that coursed through him. This foreign magic made him dizzy and a little nauseous, but the feeling soon passed.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Suddenly his grandmother appeared before him with a butcher knife. She grabbed his hand and made a swift cut, then grabbed Lukas’s and did the same. Time seemed to slow, the sounds of the city outside deepening and his own heartbeat a heavy bass beat in his ears. Before Iszak had a chance to process her movements, his grandmother wrenched his hand and smacked his palm against his brother’s.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Find her. Protect my grandchild at all costs.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">He gripped his brother’s hand and latched onto the bond with Belah that had all but disappeared since she’d been taken. The thread was faint, but grew stronger with each second. The rhythmic ticking of his grandmother’s ancient clock filled his ears, each beat seeming to strengthen their connection to Belah. Somewhere in the background another beat emerged, and the harder he listened, the more the room around him faded.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Iszak recognized the pulling sensation he’d experienced when Marcus had carried them here, but this time it was even stronger, with a sharp, almost painful tugging centered at his navel. The room disappeared into darkness and vertigo hit, but he managed to remain focused on the bond to his mate, as well as the painful throb of the cut on his hand where his brother still held tight.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Light returned with a sudden, searing glare. Iszak’s stomach lurched, but once more he found himself able to control his nausea. The world swayed around him and the steady ticking was back. The rhythmic beat was so loud in his ears it rivaled Ozzie’s bass drum.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Gradually, the sound faded to a slow <i>tap-tap-tap</i>, and he hazarded a look.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Lukas stood beside him, his eyes still clenched shut, his hand still gripping Iszak’s. Between them, their hands were coated with blood, the red fluid dripping softly onto the soapstone floor.</p>
      <p class="subsq">On the other side of Lukas was the corner of the penthouse where Iszak had knelt earlier that night and lost the contents of his stomach, only the puddle he’d left behind wasn’t there. The place looked different than it had the first time, but he couldn’t put his finger on what had changed.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“The towers,” Lukas said, pointing out the floor-to-ceiling windows.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“He’d have had to stay in this century, I guess. This building’s only about forty years old.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Beyond the windows was a sight Iszak had always loved about the city, but never believed he’d see again. On any other day it would have brought him to his knees, but the sound of whispered, agonized pleas drew his eyes away from the brightly lit monoliths of the Twin Towers outside the penthouse windows.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Angered pleas cut through the nostalgia. His future was what mattered now, and the future of the woman in the other room, along with the unborn baby she carried.</p>
    </div>
  </div>
</body>
</html>
